Orkney Climate Festival
Thank you to all those who took part in the first Sanday Climate Festival, which itself was part of the first Orkney wide Climate Festival.
The Orkney Festival was created by the newly formed North Highlands & Islands Climate Hub who are funded by the Scottish Government. The Hub is one of the first of a network of community led Climate Action Hubs which are forming across Scotland to support communities make a just transition to net zero, create greater resilience in communities and support a climate ready Scotland. You can. Find out more about the work of the hub at www.nhclimatehub.co.uk
The Scottish Government is committed to reaching Net Zero emissions of all greenhouse gases by 2045, a full 5 years ahead of our neighbours. The commitment means that we will all be affected and have a part to play even if you do not agree with the causes of, or impact of climate change. As a Development Trust we are already seeing the impact as future funding applications will require us to demonstrate our commitment and action towards achieving the net zero goal. Our involvement will be to help prepare and support the island through the transition process via initiatives such as the Climate Festival and this very section of our monthly newsletter.
Following on from our own week of climate action we are also supporting the governments Scottish Climate Week. You can find more information at https://tinyurl.com/ym7msk8k
One of the activities from our Climate Festival was a Beach Survey. The survey was not so much about clearing rubbish from the beach (although we did remove a fair bit) but to think about the rubbish found, where it come from and how it might have got there. The activity took place with help from the Youth Development Team across three of our wonderful beaches and a rather impressive, if sad amount of rubbish was found. Every family taking part also received a free book.
We also ran a couple of youth activities that focused on growing plants and climate science with kits funded by the North Highlands and Islands Climate Hub.
A big thanks to everyone who attended the Community Picnic and made it such a success. For some time, the Development Trust had been wanting to put on a community event to bring the island together following the previous years of Covid related restrictions and lack of social events and the Climate Festival provided that opportunity. A very special thanks goes to Jacqueline Seatter for catering the event and to the many volunteers that helped.
Finally, a thank you to Jonny from the Climate Hub for his help in creating the festival and for travelling to Sanday to hold a Climate Conversation event that closed our week of activities.